


Never Tell Me the Odds

by Antisocial_Musician



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Closeted nerd, F/F, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Harold They're Lesbians Meme, Hurt/Comfort, I do it for the girls and the gays that's it, Idiots in Love, Lesbians, M/M, Miko is a lesbian and no one can convince me otherwise - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Swearing, gen z humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26719180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antisocial_Musician/pseuds/Antisocial_Musician
Summary: Lil just wanted to survive high school, maybe get a girlfriend in the process. She had a supportive family and awesome friends, so why did something always feel off? When she unexpectedly gets thrown into Transformers Prime, she figures out why. Also, she knows the fate of the universe literally rests on her shoulders, but was the extra side of gay panic really necessary?This is a "person from our world" fic. As I mentioned in the tags, I do it for the girls, gays and theys that's it, so haters can just make their way right out. I'll post as often as I can, but no set dates. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames please.
Relationships: Miko Nakadai/Original Female Character(s), Optimus Prime & Original Female Character(s), Ratchet (Transformers) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 39





	1. While you were out partying, I studied the blade

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, welcome to the first chapter of my first ever fanfiction! Hope it turns out well, but I must warn you that there will be and unnecessary amount of dank memes and movie quotes (as evidenced by the title). Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I do own my oc though.

“C’mon Lil, now that the rona’s gone we need to live life to the fullest! That includes taking risks- such as asking a girl out!” My friend Kerrigan told me enthusiastically. “Besides, you’re the one who kept telling me how lonely you were over quarantine.” 

I sighed in exasperation, running a hand through my faux hawk. “You do know that most of the girls here are straight, right? The remaining few who aren’t are taken, my homies, or are NOT my type.” 

She crossed her arms and huffed. “Bro, what even is your type?” 

“Girls who can headbang to edgy punk rock with me, who keep up with my immaturity while still being serious when needed,” I responded without hesitation. After a moment, I added, “and if they also play an instrument, then that’s a bonus.” 

She grinned. “All good qualities, but you are sadly right. Barely a single girl here falls into that category.” It was indeed sad, but it was pretty awesome of her to care that much about my (non-existent) dating life. I smiled at her. Since seventh grade, Kerrigan had been with me through thick and thin. When I came out to her a year ago, she was completely supportive. Being pansexual herself, she totally understood how hard it is to figure yourself if you’re questioning. 

We’re now sophomores. After years of waiting for dating to be “appropriate,” we’re both excited to maybe hopefully not be lonely. I personally was extremely excited to make Shrek memes and kiss a few times, maybe put our beds next to each other in minecraft with my future girlfriend.

The kids at school seem to think that having a partner holds some sort of status, but I genuinely wish I had a girlfriend because…. Well, y’know, GIRLS. C’mon people. 

“Oh! Remember that dude at horse camp?” Kerrigan jolted me out of my thoughts. 

I gave a slightly exaggerated, morose sigh. “She was perfect, but she had already pulled a classic lesbian stunt and got a crush on her best friend of seven years. Alas.” 

She winced. “That’s rough buddy.” 

I sputtered with laughter. “That’s your response to my best and probably only chance of true love?” I mock-gasped. 

“When in doubt, Zuko can take over my awkward teenage brain,” she replied. 

I nodded wisely. “Truer words could never be said, my guy.”

We both glanced at the buses arriving from the middle school from the bench we were sitting on. Kerrigan stood up. “Well, maybe we’ll have a random transfer from Japan who happens to be your soulmate,” she joked. 

I mock-glared at her. “Ha-ha,” I said sarcastically, scratching the back of my neck. I felt metal, which was kind of weird. I frowned. _Probably just part of the jacket._

She laughed. “Guess I’ll see you on monday!” she called over her shoulder. I grinned back at her. 

“Have a weekend that exists,” I replied. As I stepped onto my bus, I could hear her snickering.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I detected a faint breeze drifting gently over the open field. I closed my eyes, attempting to slow my breathing and clear my mind, as my heart rate lowered. I’m no expert on meditation, but even I know that controlled breathing is the key. I also know how calming being outside is, how good fresh air is for your lungs. 

Currently, I’m in the middle of the thirteen acres that my family owns, next to a quick-flowing river. The sound of the leaves rustling combined with the small splashes the river was making formed an altogether very calming effect. My muscles relaxed, releasing all of the tension that was pent up over the week from the mountains of homework the teacher assigned us, as well as the constant fear of being called on in class (the teachers were like hawks, eyes constantly raking over the class to see which unfortunate child looked the least like they were paying attention). I rolled my shoulders to warm them up. 

Slowly, I opened my eyes, still controlling my breathing, and unsheathed my dad’s tree sap- covered machete (that I definitely DIDN’T steal) that was strapped to my back and twirled it like I would a tennis racquet sometimes. The motions flashed through my mind as I got into a basic but effective stance and readied my two handed grip on the blade. I gave the air a few basic slashes to get in the movement, then I began practicing blocks, which I incorporated into my parries. My jabs flowed smoothly into my slashes and slashes into jabs. I twisted away from an imaginary opponent while subsequently twitching to a one-handed grip to stab the air. 

One of the things that homophobes never seem to get is the fact that I am indeed, more than my sexuality. I dress the way I do because it’s comfortable and it makes me feel confident. I also happen to love playing several instruments, my favorite being the alto sax (it’s the meme-iest). In short, I’m a band geek. I love riding my horse and feeling the wind probing my scalp as it rushes past me. I love watching “kids TV shows” like Avatar the Last Airbender and Tales of Arcadia. When I was younger, I was obsessed with Transformers Prime. I can remember the major events and the characters in that show, but not every episode word by word. To this day I’m a huge fan of Transformers in general. 

I don’t have many other sports (except skiing, which I can’t do for obvious reasons), but I do enjoy kickboxing a lot. Once I had started kickboxing, I picked up on the moves weirdly quickly and had blended them into that of my machete.

History is full of pointless fighting. Unnecessary hatred targeted towards random groups of people. Idiots who managed to gain control over their entire country and spark a global conflict that ended millions of lives. I do not practice fighting to hurt people, but to protect people I care about, or innocent people being harmed for no reason. Not to mention the fact that fighting is an excellent full body workout.

A distant voice calling me roused me from my quick succession of blows. I frowned. _Still need to work on the transitions between stances,_ I thought absently. I looked to where I heard the voice, expecting to see my sister calling me for dinner or something, but there was nobody there. I blinked. Sheathing my machete, I walked over to the gap in the treeline that separated the second and third field. Reaching it, I walked through and looked around. Still not a single person.

Feeling a little bit freaked out I decided that it must’ve been a neighbor yelling. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I still had twenty minutes to practice. I shrugged, walking back to my spot. Apparently, the universe thought that I had had enough of a reprieve since my last misfortune however, as the breeze I had felt earlier started picking up. In the span of seconds, it was practically hurricane level. I shielded my eyes and struggled to keep my feet. With my eyes tightly closed, the only thing I could sense was the wind roaring around me. As quickly as it picked up, the wind died down.

Slowly, I removed my hands from my eyes to complete blackness. For a second I stood there dumbly, slack-jawed and my brain rebooting frantically. Once it started working again, it started coming up with random and impossible scenarios. Panic crept through my body and adrenaline started pumping too quickly through by veins. Before I could descend into a full on panic attack, a warm, safe feeling, presence seemed to engulf me- metaphorically, obviously. 

My panic receded and the adrenalin rush faded. I looked around with a mix of terror and curiosity. “Hello?” My voice echoed nervously through the darkness. Or, what was darkness. A large ball of pure white light had suddenly appeared in front of me. 

_“Greetings young one,”_ it said in a voice that somehow sounded older than time. It was hard to describe. The soothing aura it carried stemmed the rise of questions in my mind, and with a sudden moment of clarity, I knew who this was. 

“Primus,” I whispered. “Why am I here?”

_“You have lived a good life in your world,”_ Primus started. _“But it was never really yours. On an extremely rare occasion, through a gap in the barriers, a being is born in the wrong universe. Before they can slip back, the barrier reseals itself. The being cannot get back until their true nature begins to reveal itself, which can take any amount of time._ _You, Lilly Cumbie, are one of these beings.”_ I grimaced at the use of my real name, of all things. I did have oddly quick reflexes and I was progressing faster than normal with my fighting skills, not to mention the weird metal I felt earlier. I felt the back of my neck again, but this time, I was sure it was a part of me. A small amount of panic somehow escaped Primus’ influence. My brain felt like a GPS when it recalculates. 

“Wait, so am I a techno-organic?” I asked. 

_“You weren’t one originally, but you are currently. The consequences would be devastating on your mind and body if you were to transition directly from human to cybertronian. Your body needs to adjust to a spark before you fully revert to your true form.”_ Giving me a moment to adjust, he continued. _“The time has come for you to return to your true universe. I was able to enter your subconsciousness in the short period of time when you are between barriers.”_

I frowned. Despite the sheer impossibility of it all, the fact that there was indeed a multiverse, there was only one thought nagging at me. “If this is something that happens, however rare, why are you here? Why not just let me go back to my real universe and figure it out?” He seemed amused. 

_“You are the special case among special cases. Long before you were born, you were destined for great things. Your fate was intertwined with that of the universe. You are imperative for the survival of the cybertronian and human race, not to mention the countless other planets full of life.”_

I was skeptical. “Sure, I’m responsible, and I’ve saved a couple kids from high school bullies, but am I really ‘destined for great things?’ And what kinds of great things anway?” 

He chuckled. _“It will all become clear soon, but your fate is far greater than you could know.”_ I scoffed at the vague reply, and brought up the question I’d been avoiding. 

“So, my family… will I ever see them again?” I knew I wouldn’t, but I needed to know for sure. 

_“In the little amount of time they had you for, they raised you in the best way possible.”_ I frowned. Fifteen years isn’t too long, but it’s a good amount of time. Cybertronians do age way slower though, and Primus _was_ an immortal god... _“Unfortunately, once you reach your universe, the chances that you will be able to slip through the barriers again are tiny.”_ His tone held a note of sorrow.

  
I bowed my head, allowing a few silent tears to escape. _“Our time grows short here. Just remember to never lose your way my child, and that you won’t be alone as you think.”_ Before I could consider his words, he disappeared, leaving me alone in the darkness. My eyelids began feeling really cumbersome. They slowly lowered, all of my senses leaving me. Soon, I knew no more.


	2. That awkward moment when you shatter time and space as you know it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Panicking, gay or otherwise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I do own my oc though.

When my eyes opened, I was laying in the middle of a rocky desert. I stood up, rubbing my blearily. In a split second, everything that had just transpired in the weird state between dimensions came back to my mind. If I had thought that the whole encounter was a very vivid hallucination before, I sure didn’t now. Without Primus’ influence, there was no holding back the wave of panic that had been waiting to crash over me.

_ I just talked to an alien god who I didn’t know was real until five minutes ago,  _ I thought hysterically.  _ I’m not from earth, not even that dimension. I have to save a universe which I don’t know how the fuck to save and I’m never going to see anyone I know, love or care about again.  _ My thoughts continued spiraling and I began to hyperventilate. My stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster, making me feel nauseous. I barely registered that I was on my hands and knees.

I vaguely made out the sound of a pair of engines as I descended further into panic. Jumbled thoughts flickered through my head at an overwhelming speed.  _ I’m only fourteen, I can’t vote, let alone save a universe- I’m sorry mom, dad, you deserve a normal kid- why would you do this to me, only to have everything ripped away?! My entire life has essentially been a lie- you’re going to screw this up, countless will die and it will be  _ **_your_ ** _ fault. _

I heard the engines reach me, but they sounded far away, like my head was underwater. My heart- or spark I guess, was pulsing furiously. I swung my head around so it was facing the noise, but all I could make out was a blur of bright colors and light. All of a sudden, there were a pair of hands on my shoulder. They propped me up against a warm chest and shook me. 

“I need you to nod if you can hear me,” a masculine voice said slowly and calmly. I managed to nod. “Good. Now try to in-vent and ex-vent as I count.” As I focused on his measured numbers, my spark pulse returned to it’s normal rate and my trembling torso began to steady. I blinked, the blur of light and colors in front of me solidifying.

Propping me up was a stern- looking man in his late fifties. He was wearing a white doctor's coat and had a shock of bright red and white hair on his head. He was looking at me with concern, relief and curiosity. On my other side was a tall man in his early forties with blue jeans and a red leather jacket standing over me. He had royal blue hair in a ponytail tied back at the nape of his neck. Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of roaring jet engines filled the air.

“Decepticons,” the man in the red jacket said gravely. He then seemed to flicker out of existence. A semi truck behind him transformed into Optimus Prime, the well- known leader of the Autobots. Even though I had already processed the fact I was going to meet him, I had just gathered my bearings. It was pretty crazy, to say the least. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of transformers of various fandoms on TV, but it was nothing compared to a transformer  _ right in front of me, _ let alone  _ Optimus Prime _ . He put a digit to his audio receptors. “Bumblebee, we require a groundbridge,” he said, looking at the rapidly approaching ‘cons. 

The other man helped me up. “Can you walk?” He asked. I took a shaky step forward and instantly tripped. 

“Apparently not,” I huffed. “Don’t worry, I can help. Now, we don’t have time for introductions or explanations now, but when we get back to our base, I promise no harm will come to you.” 

Even amidst it all, a corner of my mouth rose. “Don’t worry, I’ll take Autobots over Decepticons any day.” His eyebrows rose a little but he nodded and lifted my arm over his shoulder. We began walking (I kind of hobbled) to the swirling blue and green vortex that appeared in front of us. Seeing as I was a bit taller than the red and white haired man, it was a bit inconvenient. 

As the Decepticons began firing, Optimus looked back. “Go, I’ll cover you!” His battle mask locked over his face and his servos transformed into blasters. As he began firing back, I heard another engine behind me and the red-haired man. Turning my head, I saw a red and white ambulance that was the exact same shade as the man’s hair. I realized that this must be Ratchet’s holoform, the Autobot medic. Good to know that I wouldn’t have to look very far to find a safe haven. We reached the ‘bridge, and I braced myself as we stepped in.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun shone brightly down on Optimus and Ratchet as they made their way through their patrol route. Arcee, Bulkhead and Miko (she had somehow managed to convince them to take her with them) were scouting for energon and Bumblebee was with Raf and Jack. The last they had seen, Jack and Raf were playing a mildly competitive racing game. Bumblebee was cheering on his young charge. The days had passed uneventfully since Makeshift had infiltrated their base and almost gave up their location to the decepticons. Patrols passed without so much as a tumbleweed, and the groundbridge was almost fully functional again. 

“I wonder what the Decepticons are up to right now,” Ratchet murmured, breaking the silence as they drove down the road. 

“While it is unlikely there will be much activity on their part, Starscream is no doubt plotting his next move. Seeing as how unpredictable he is, we must be on our guard at all times,” Optimus replied. 

Ratchet snorted. “Knowing Starscream, his ‘next move’ could be anything from crashing the  _ Nemesis _ to raiding a random military base for Primus knows what.”

Before Optimus could respond, an energy signature popped up on both of their scanners, a few clicks away. Ratchet gasped. “How… how is this possible?” Ratchet gasped. “A cybertronian life signal combined with an organic one?” 

“By the allspark… A techno organic?” Optimus’ normally stoic tone held an air of shock. 

“Almost all of them could barely last more than a few cycles with a spark, and that was eons ago, on Cybertron!” Ratchet exclaimed. “Optimus, we have to investigate.” 

The ‘bot in question answered immediately. “I agree. The Decepticons have also no doubt picked up the signature and will not hesitate to bring harm to them.” Ratchet shivered, remembering Shockwave’s twisted experiments. 

The two changed course to where the signature was still blinking. Accelerating quickly, they soon reached the source. It appeared to be human youngling on her hands and knees with a sword strapped to her back, hyperventilating on the ground. She swung her head around towards them. Ratchet activated his holoform and strode briskly over to her. Assessing the situation, he knelt down and gently held her up so they were face to face. Optimus activated his holoform as well and walked over to them. Giving the youngling’s shoulders a soft shake, Ratchet spoke to her in a firm but comforting voice. “I need you to nod if you can hear me,” he said. Her head bobbed up and down. “Good. Now try to in-vent and ex-vent as I count.” 

The two ‘bots watched as her chest shakily rose and fell and her unfocused eyes cleared. She looked from Ratchet to Optimus with an overwhelmed expression. The small moment was interrupted by the sound of jet engines. “Decepticons,” Optimus stated gravely. His holoform flickered away and he transformed, narrowing his eyes at the approaching vehicons. The techno- organic’s eyes widened slightly. “Bumblebee, we require a groundbridge,” he said into the comms. 

Ratchet tightened his hold on the youngling and slowly helped her up. “Can you walk?” He asked. She took an unsteady step forward and almost fell back to her knees again, had Ratchet not caught her.

“Apparently not,” She said, sounding frustrated. 

“Don’t worry, I can help. Now, we don’t have time for introductions or explanations now, but when we get back to our base, I promise no harm will come to you.” 

Despite her dazed state, she smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll take Autobots over Decepticons any day.” Ratchet nodded, eyebrows jolting up a little.  _ She recovered fast _ , he thought.  _ Could just be a coping mechanism. _ He lifted the techno- organic’s arm over his shoulders and they started walking. It was a little difficult, seeing as she was a few inches taller than his holoform. 

The vehicons reached them and instantly started firing, as per usual. “Go, I’ll cover you!” Optimus called back, battlemask engaging. His servo transformed into his ion blaster and he began shooting back. The groundbridge appeared a few yards away. As soon as his holoform and the youngling had limped in, a stray shot from a vehicon hit the ground where they had just been standing. Ratchet restarted his engine and drove through, Optimus close behind. Once they all made it, the groundbridge closed behind them.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As we stepped into the base, my head started spinning and my stomach dropped again. I leaned heavily on Ratchet as he led me over to a crate and helped me sit down. “Are you alright?” He asked. 

“I’m just not used to the groundbridge, give me a sec,” I responded. His holoform blinked away and he transformed from his alt- mode. I rubbed my eyes, the bright spots disappearing more quickly than the last time. Looking up, I met several curious gazes. “Uh, hey?” I asked awkwardly. “What’s goin?” 

Optimus stepped forward. “Hello young one. My name is Optimus Prime, and this is Autobot Outpost Omega-1. These are two of our human friends, Raf and Jack.” He gestured to the two kids who had made their way down the stairs upon my arrival. “Our CMO, Ratchet,” he motioned to the medic. “And our scout, Bumblebee,” He said finally, indicating the yellow ‘bot.

“You guys are waay cooler in person,” I blurted out. I winced.  _ Way to go, dumbass.  _ Ratchet’s optic ridges shot up. 

“What do you mean, ‘in person?’” He asked suspiciously. “And how did your signature appear out of nowhere? How do you even exist? All techno organics offlined ages ago.” Blinking at the small barrage of questions, I tried to come up with an organized, coherent answer. 

Luckily, before I could respond, the sound of two vehicles entering the tunnel filled the base. A blue motorcycle with pink highlights entered first, followed by a green offroader. The motorcycle transformed into Arcee, the most BAMF I could think of in the history of Transformers. The offroader popped open a door and let somebody out, but before I could see who, it transformed into Bulkhead, the resident wrecker on earth. “Hey! Who is she?” A human-sized figure darted out from behind Bulkhead’s pede. “Why does all of the cool stuff always happen without me?!” The figure stopped in front of me and the only thing I registered was pure. Gay. Panic.

  
  
  



	3. I thought you were American

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gay is strong in these ones.
> 
> WARNING: Cringy memes ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update, I may or may not have procrastinated a little. whoops
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I do own my oc though.

To the average person, Miko probably wasn’t stunning. Just another teenager. However, the bright pink streak in her hair, the mischievous glint in her amber-brown eyes and the curve of her smile- like she knew something everyone else didn’t- left me practically short-circuiting. I’m sure I looked like an idiot, eyes wide, jaw hitting the floor, rendered speechless. Who could blame me though? I was faced with the person of my dreams. 

“Uh, hello?” Her voice, loud and intrusive yet captivating at the same time, jolted me out of my star-struck state. “Are you okay dude? You like, totally spaced out!” I stuttered for a moment. 

“Oh, um, yes, I’m fine.” Remembering her question, I hurriedly started speaking again. “Ah, I’m Lilly Cumbie- Lil. Don’t call me Lilly, it’s stupid. Cumbie is my last name-,” _Captain Obvious strikes again!_ “-not to be confused with cucumber or crumbles.” I managed to stop rambling. 

I looked around to see quite a few raised optic ridges and eyebrows. Miko was undeterred. “Cool! So, what are you doing here? How did you meet the bots? Why do you have a machete? Also, you have some pretty sweet hair.” She probably didn’t realize the effect that had on me. I’m pretty sure my eyes had turned into hearts. She was right, I realized. I did still have my machete. When I touched the hilt though, it felt different.

“Sorry to interrupt your moment,” Ratchet jutted in. My face turned slightly red. “But I believe that you still have left my questions unanswered?” Arcee and Bulkhead looked extremely confused. 

“What was so important that we had to come back to base?” Arcee asked. “And what questions? I’m kind of lost here,” Bulkhead added. I sat back down and tried not to be overwhelmed with the amount of questions and pressure going my way. 

“Woah guys, give her some space,” Jack said, walking up to stand next to Miko. I smiled. “Thanks Jack,” I responded. “But it’s cool, I would be pretty weirded out too if a random techno organic appeared out of literally nowhere.” Raf looked bewildered. 

“What’s a techno organic?” He asked. I sighed in mild exasperation. “Y’know what, how about I just explain it all to avoid confusion?” Everyone still looked a little confused.

Looking back, I probably should have tried to come up with a more comprehensible answer, but the combined stares of everyone looking at me (particularly Miko) had me nervously rambling again. The torrent of words that then came out of my mouth was really quite extraordinary. “Okay, so I was just minding my own business when PRIMUS- actual PRIMUS- out of literally nowhere tells me that the multiverse exists and I was born in the wrong universe- because of an extremely rare broken barrier or something and I was supposed to be a full Cybertronian and now I’m back in my real universe and I have to save it, also everything I know and love is a lie- and in that universe, this one is a TV show and I’m a techno organic now because he said it would be dangerous or something to transition directly from human to Cybertronian.” I took a slightly gasping breath (which my binder didn’t make any easier). “A techno organic is someone who is part human and part Cybertronian and Primus is the god and creator of all Cybertronians,” I added for the human’s benefit. “I have a machete because… why not?”

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to make sense of my cascade of words. Surprisingly, it was Jack who spoke up first. “What do you mean, our universe is a TV show?” I suppose that would be what he got out of it. 

“I mean that some, likely most of the events that happen here, specifically with you guys and the Decepticons are portrayed as a television series. It’s probably not all exactly the same as what’s happened here though.” Optimus looked like he was deep in thought while the other four autobots looked like they were rebooting their processor. Miko was the first to recover, to no one's shock. 

“DUDE! That is SO COOL! Another universe?! I’m on TV? And you’re like, a cyborg?” 

I smiled wanly. “Yeah, a cyborg is a pretty accurate comparison.” Miko looked like she was in awe. _Not of me though, just of what I am,_ I thought bitterly. I glanced sideways at her, unable to stop myself from admiring her again. _Stop it you idiot! Why are you thinking about this? You don’t have time for relationships! Besides, she’s probably straight._ I thought of her alternative style and the pink streak in her hair. _Well, maybe there’s a SMALL chance she’s not, but she’ll probably never like you like that._ I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Does that mean that we’re all fiction?” Raf asked with a slightly worried tone.

“No, there’s just a TV show about you guys,” I stated. “I don’t really know how it works, but it does. Trust me, I think it’s kinda wack too.” _But I’m fresh as friiiiiiick_ , my brain supplied unwillingly.

**“You probably know what happened to Cybertron,”** Bumblebee said. I blinked in surprise. _Well I guess I am part Cybertronian now, it makes sense that I would understand him._ **“We know how you feel. I know we don’t know each other well yet, but if you ever want to talk...”** He trailed off, but his meaning was clear.

A tear slipped down my face before I could hold it back. I quickly wiped it away. “Thanks, I appreciate that,” I said sincerely. 

“Scientists back on Cybertron had studied the theory of the multiverse, but they never figured out how to enter it. How did you?” Ratchet asked. 

“Well, Primus said that occasionally someone will slip into a gap in the barriers between universes,” I responded, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “But the odds are astronomically small.” He frowned.

“Why couldn’t you slip back?” He questioned curiously.

“Primus told me that the barrier fixed itself before I could.” I explained. “I only got back here now because my true form began to show, however that works.” I turned my back to them, moving my collar aside to show the metal on the back of my neck. Little did I know, Optimus had an expression of utter shock on his face.

“My helm is aching,” Bulkhead groaned as I turned back to them. “Multiverses and barriers and the cracks in them- ugh.” 

“I guess it just shows how much we don’t know, even when we consider ourselves an advanced race,” Arcee said with a hint of amusement. “There’s just so much out there.”

The corner of Ratchet’s mouth quirked up. “It is quite fascinating.”

“Booooooring!” Miko inserted herself back into the conversation. “Science-y stuff is for school, not here!” 

I couldn’t help but grin a little at that. “I do think that stuff is pretty interesting, but it does hurt my brain.” Thinking about it, I added, “Also, ever since elementary school, I’ve never had good luck with science teachers, so it kind of brings back some painful memories.” I winced, remembering how my seventh grade science teacher would drone on for what felt like hours without actually saying anything.

For the first time since I “explained” everything, Optimus spoke up. “Lilly, what is your age?” I frowned at the use of my real name. Seriously, it’s not that hard to not use it people!

“I’m fifteen, but I’ll be sixteen in a month,” I replied. “I’m almost to my junior year- well, I  _ was _ almost to it.” During quarantine for coronavirus, I learned that I actually liked school. I had only been back for less than half of a year before I jumped universes. It was disappointing to know that I likely wouldn’t be going back to school, possibly ever. 

There was a sharp intake of air from all of the autobots. “Fifteen… human years?” Ratchet asked quietly. I nodded in affirmation. Optimus’ expression was unreadable. 

“Primus, that’s even younger than when Bumblebee joined,” Arcee murmured. Said ‘bot had his own optics open wide. 

Miko on the other hand exclaimed, “Hey, I’m almost in my junior year too!”  _ Maybe you do have a SMALL chance after all. _

“I don’t think that’s the point, Miko,” Jack muttered before I could embarrass myself again. Oh right. Some boomer people still think that fifteen year olds are innocent. Not with the internet! 

I huffed. “Look, I know that sounds pretty young, but so were all of the sparklings that died on Cybertron during the war. So were all of the younglings who were barely old enough to enlist and offlined in their first battle. So are the billions of children here on earth who, if the decepticons win, will die.” I looked around at the stunned faces. “And while someone older would be better suited for this, it’s me.” 

“Lilly, while I see the logic in your words, you are untrained and unaccustomed to battle,” Optimus stated. “But if what you say is true- that you have to save this universe, then I will do everything I can to help you.”

His words were met with an exclamation from Arcee. “But Optimus, like you said, she’s completely untrained!” 

“Well there’s an easy fix to that,” I grinned and raised my eyebrows hopefully. “And even though I’ve never been in actual combat, I kind of taught myself some stuff.” Arcee looked apprehensive. 

“Proper training is required before any missions, do not worry Arcee,” Optimus said. 

“Sweet! Soo.. When can we start?” I asked eagerly.

“In a couple of days would be best, to allow you time to settle in. You will also have to meet Agent Fowler, and he can take care of your needs and work out an arrangement.”

I frowned. “Technically I’m not a citizen of this world- no birth record or anything, so why would we need an arrangement?”

“Agent Fowler will want to know the reason you are here nonetheless. The government may also want the details.” Optimus explained.

**“Yeah, he’ll need to know who you are so he can yell at you,”** Bumblebee muttered. I winced. _Sounds like a real nice guy._

“Hey Arcee, could you take me home?” Jack piped up, turning his phone off. Mom says she needs to talk to me.” 

“Wonder what it’s about,” Arcee said. 

“Good luck soldier,” I said solemnly. It’s _never_ a good thing when your mom tells you that she needs to talk to you. Miko snickered. 

“Oh that reminds me,” Raf spoke up. “I need to be home as well, one of my sisters is coming home from college today.” 

**“Sure, no problem!”** Bee said. He and Arcee transformed into their alt modes. Jack and Raf got in/on and they drove away. Miko instantly shot up from where she had sat down (probably from boredom) and grabbed my arm. My face turned red again. _Don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic don’t-_

“So you do want a tour of the base?” She asked excitedly.

“S-sure,” I stammered. Her black nails only enhanced her general “I don’t give a fuck about what people think of me” attitude and I was practically living for it. Ratchet rolled his eyes. Bulkhead looked confused, shaking his head as he made his way down a hallway. There was a hint of a smile in Optimus’ expression, which was the last I managed to see before Miko dragged me off.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 _Young love,_ Optimus thought, looking after the human and techno-organic who had just ran off. He remembered when Cybertron was peaceful and younglings like the two that had just run off shared similar feelings. He sighed. Hundreds of thousands of years of war had beaten him down, beaten _all_ of them down (minus Bumblebee, he was still young) and he couldn’t bring himself to worry about things like love anymore. 

“She was quite something, wasn’t she,” Ratchet murmured, also gazing after Miko and Lilly. 

Optimus cracked a rare smile. “Yes, she was.” 

There was a pause before Ratchet spoke again, this time hesitantly. “Optimus, did you notice how she acted? Different than most Cybertronians except…”

“A Prime,” Optimus finished. “I did notice that. And I don’t expect you to repeat this, but on the back of her neck, did you see the symbol?” Ratchet nodded. “That was the mark of a Prime.” Ratchet vented sharply. “I didn’t want to say anything because when the Matrix was given to me, the life I had known before was completely ripped from me. I had to accept all of the responsibilities of a Prime, and I remember how bitter I was about it. I want to give her as much time to live with that weight on her shoulders.” He squeezed his optics shut. “She’s so _young,_ Ratchet.”

“Life is cruel, Optimus,” Ratchet remarked, not unkindly. “Nobody is spared from it, like she said. The best we can do is prepare her and stand by her until the day she has to stand alone. But you will have to tell her that she is destined to become a Prime first.” He glared at Optimus. “You should have at least given her a warning!”

Optimus sighed. “I know, but I couldn’t.” Ratchet understood, even if he disagreed. 

Ratchet turned to the computer terminal. Lilly, although she wasn’t the most serious, had the burdened eyes of someone thousands of years older. It was haunting, what war did to people. While she hadn’t experienced war, being told that the fate of the universe lay on her shoulders definitely held quite the impact. On the other hand, she did clearly experience “love at first sight” as the human saying went when she saw Miko. He smiled.

“I wonder what her and Miko are getting up to?”

  
  
  



	4. Just when you thought it couldn't get gayer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lil and Miko are both gay idiots who won't figure it out for a while. Lil also meets Agent Fowler and has some bonding time with Optimus and Ratchet.
> 
> WARNING: Talk of gender dysphoria, and Cybertronian... Anatomy? Nothing graphic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I do own my oc though.
> 
> Sorry for the wait! My high school had benchmarks this week.

“C’mon Lil! The energon storage is this way.” Miko was practically bouncing with excitement down the hallway.

“How do you have this much enthusiasm?” I wondered in awe. Most kids my age were pretty beaten down by life already-between the workload the teachers assigned us and the general pressure of society, it was no surprise. But Miko, even though she no doubt faced the same challenges (and quite possibly more, seeing as she was an exchange student from Japan) didn’t seem affected in the slightest.

“Well, there's not much to do around base, and you're new. Sometimes the Hatchet’ll pick up evidence of energon being moved, and the ‘bots will go and pound some ‘cons into scrap, but that’s about it.” She paused in her bouncing, looking like she was thinking. “Besides, there’s something… _different_ about you.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Miko, you visit giant alien metal robots every day! I can’t be too much more interesting than that.” She stepped closer to me.

She smiled slightly. “Not like that. Even though they are, y’know, giant alien metal robots, they give me the same vibes as everyone else. But you,” her eyes narrowed. “You feel different.” _Wow, she’s really close to me,_ my mind thought dumbly.

Trying to regain coherent thought, I grinned awkwardly. “Thank you?” Looking behind her, I asked, “Oh, is that the energon storage?” She turned around.

“Yep that’s it!” She was back to her usual excited self again in moments. We walked (Walked! I was still a little shaky, so it was nice to not be speeding down the corridor like Sonic on drugs) past it then continued down the long hallway of the base. “And I forgot to ask you, could I see your machete?”

_Huh, completely forgot about that._ “Sure!” I unsheathed it.

“Wow! That’s pretty cool,” Miko said, leaning in closer to study it. I was too busy staring at it to reply. The blade that I had sheathed about half an hour ago was not the same blade I unsheathed now. For starters, “machete” was no longer an accurate description for it. This was clearly a sword. It was much longer and heavier than it had been, not to mention sharper and shinier. What had been a serrated edge that was used for sawing was now flat, though no less deadly. The blade itself was a dark silver, almost black, and it felt more balanced than the machete ever was. The hilt was also metal, and it was wrapped in metallic green ivy leaves. It was pretty fucking awesome.

“Wow..” I murmured, still transfixed by my newly refurbished sword.

“What? What is it?” Miko asked.

“This is not what it looked like before,” I said. “It used to be a rusty, sap covered old farm tool and now…”

“Dude!” She was also staring at the sword. “That’s kinda sus, not gonna lie.”

I laughed. “Everything that’s happened for the past forty five-ish minutes has been kinda sus.” 

“True that.” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, can you fight with it?”

I scoffed. “Duh! Why else would I have a deadass machete-SWORD?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was asking if you could show me.” 

I made a little _ah_ sound. “Yeah, that would make more sense.” I backed a safe distance away from her and gave the sword a few practice swings. Already I could feel the huge difference between it now and when it was a machete. It was more balanced and cut more cleanly through the air. Four slashes, duck, twist, stab, followed by two flowing jabs. My muscles fell into the familiar movements. It was practically second nature. 

I finished in a basic but sturdy stance with a two handed grip. “Now how was that?” Smirking, I turned back to Miko to find her mouth agape and her eyes wide. _Finally, I’m not the dumbstruck one._

“That. Was. Awesome! Where did you learn all of that? Could you teach me?” She was practically talking at a hundred miles per hour, walking around me excitedly.

“I mostly taught myself, but youtube was a big help as well,” I responded. “There was also the fact that my parents never noticed that every time I went for a “walk” to the river, the machete would mysteriously vanish. Coincidences, am I right?” I elbowed her. “I could probably teach you, but you’ll have to find the right sized stick to practice with-which may be difficult around here. Also, I’ve never actually taught anyone sword fighting before.” _Or really anything._

“Nah, you’ll be a great teach.” She blinked. “Hold up- where did you live before?” Every time someone (including myself) referred to my home in past tense, it was a little painful. I supposed I would get used to it. 

“You may or may not be surprised, but I lived in the “countryside,” on a farm.” I made finger quotes. “It wasn’t exactly the countryside though-we were never more than five minutes away from a starbucks.” She laughed. I smiled, pleased. “It was okay but not the best, seeing as it was in the South. Luckily, North Carolina isn’t the most bigoted state over there.” I gestured in a random direction in which I thought was east. I continued telling her about my old home and life as she started her tour again. Circling around the base, she pointed out notable places such as the training room, the armory (which didn’t appear to be fully stocked) and the Autobot’s quarters. 

Eventually, our conversation somehow ended up with me telling Miko about my instrumental life (I definitely WASN’T flexing jeez). “Yeah, my marching band actually competed at state level. We were some of the highest scoring, which was awesome. I also played a few solos on my alto sax,” I recounted, sighing wistfully at the memory (okay maybe I was flexing a little bit). 

“That’s awesome! Hey, I play electric guitar, so maybe we should try and practice together sometime?” Miko asked hopefully. “Jack and Raf have no musical talent whatsoever.”

I laughed. “That would be kek, but I don’t actually have any of my instruments here. Sadly.” Another great thing about this whole… _situation_ was that I left EVERYTHING except for the clothes on my back (and the machete) behind.

“Instruments-as in multiple?” She questioned.

“Yep, I play alto, flute, piccolo and clarinet,” I said proudly. She nodded thoughtfully, clearly scheming. I gave her a suspicious glance. 

We started walking back to “mission control” as Miko dubbed it, talking all of the way. I learned that Miko’s parents were the traditional type-hence her edgy style (restrictive parents ALWAYS produce rebellious kids). Apparently, Miko was a prankster extraordinaire back in Tokyo.

“You legit managed to play the Monsters Inc theme, the earrape version, on the speakers from the _principal's office_?!” I was laughing so hard I could barely form the words. “How’d ya pull that off?” 

She looked extremely smug. “It wasn’t too hard. Most of the staff was on their lunch break, I snuck in, turned on the microphone all the way up, hit play and booked it. I have no idea how, but they never were able to prove it was me.” She laughed, eyes twinkling with the same mischief from earlier. _Stop staring you idiot,_ I thought, pinching myself. “You could hear the teachers screaming in rage from across the school.”

“That is the deadass coolest thing someone has ever done,” I said in awe. “I’ve seen videos of people doing stuff like that in a gym or something, but never a whole school. Genius.” We kept snickering as we turned the corner and strolled over to the stairs. Ratchet looked suspiciously at us.

“Do you want to play some video games?” Miko asked.

“Sure,” I responded. “I’m not great at them though, you’ll probably win all of them.”

She looked shocked, like nobody had ever not instantly challenged her. All she said was “Hmm.” We both sat down on the couch, Miko turning on the TV and handing me a controller. She scrolled through the games before picking a racing one. I groaned.

“The last time I played a racing game I crashed like forty times! This is going to be humiliating.” She snickered. I took a breath in preparation, and she started the game. At least I was almost completely relaxed by now. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Optimus walked out of his quarters from where he had been doing paperwork to see Ratchet still working at the computer terminal while Lilly and Miko played a video game on the couch. They were both focused intently on it, eyes narrowed and fingers twitching back and forth. 

As he came up behind Ratchet, the proximity sensors started blaring. There was a very loud “Goddamnit!” from the couch as Lilly startled and the controller she was using flew across the platform. There was some inaudible swearing. “That was the tenth round, and the first one I was actually winning!”

“Ah, what a shame,” Miko sighed, hiding a grin. “Such a shame indeed.” Lilly glared at her.

“Prime!” A dark-skinned, middle aged man strode forward. “What was so important that I had to be here ‘as soon as possible?’” Noticing Lilly (who was kneeling down to pick up the controller. he scoffed. “Another civilian?”

“Agent Fowler, I would like you to meet Lilly Cumbie.” Optimus didn’t bat an optic, clearly used to the man’s personality. She isn’t exactly a civilian, it’s more complicated than that.” 

Fowler still looked skeptical. “Then please, do tell me what is going on here?”

Lilly stood up to her full height (which was above the average human’s) and awkwardly waved. “This may be a little hard to believe but,” she paused. “How do I put this,” she muttered. “I’m from an alternate universe?” 

For a moment, Fowler simply stared. “Is… Is this some kind of joke?” He asked incredulously. 

“Nope! It sure isn’t!” Miko added enthusiastically. “Where she comes from, we’re in like, a TV show! Super rad.” Fowler blinked. Twice. Three times. “And do half humans still count as citizens?” Lilly winced imperceptibly. 

“Y’know, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Uncle Sam himself brought me donuts,” Fowler said, shaking his head.

“Well, there’s a little bit more than that-”

Lilly was cut off by Fowler when he raised his hands. “Just tell me what you need me to do.” He sighed exasperatedly. “This seems like a situation for you bots.”

“You’re not going to ask _any_ questions?” Ratchet inquired suspiciously. Fowler shook his head firmly.

“I am aware that this is a former missile silo, so there should be some human quarters that still remain, correct?” Optimus asked.

“Yes, but there’s no plumbing. It was disconnected when the base was reformatted.” His brow furrowed. “I could get some of my boys to get it reconnected. It would take about an hour.”

“That would be greatly appreciated, Agent Fowler.” Optimus said gratefully. 

“Yeah, thanks,” Lilly grinned. It was obvious to everyone but Miko that Lil was looking at her with a longing expression.

“If that’s all, I’ll be leaving.” He gave Optimus a curt nod. “They should be here relatively soon.” With that, he turned on his heel and left.

“I believe we were in the middle of something?” Miko held out the game controller to Lil with an expectant expression. She grabbed it without hesitation, and the pair sat back down with intense expressions. They started the game again, but it soon came clear that the game Lilly had been winning was nothing more than a fluke. However, she kept playing relentlessly, losing game after game. Arcee and Bumblebee commed in, saying that they would take patrol that evening. Fowler’s people came and went, gawking at Optimus and Ratchet, but she continued playing resolutely.

Miko and Lil talked as they played, using human terms Optimus didn’t recognize. It wasn’t until Bulkhead re-emerged from his quarters that he noticed Lilly glancing out of the corner of her eye at Miko right before she crashed every time. 

“Isn’t it curfew for you, Miko?” Bulkhead asked, still oblivious to the techno-organic’s attraction to his charge.

Miko sighed. “Yeah it is. Stupid host parents,” She muttered, looking briefly at Lil, who had a disappointed expression on her face. “See you tomorrow?” 

“Yeah! See you then,” Lil responded, hiding her disappointment with a warm tone. Miko grinned and waved goodbye, hopping into Bulkhead’s alt mode, which drove out of base.

Lilly stuffed her hands into her pockets awkwardly. A second later, she removed a pair of sunglasses. Grinning, she put them on and pointed a pair of finger guns at Optimus and Ratchet. “Ya like jazz?” She was met with blank stares. “Fine then.” Ratchet huffed and Optimus hid a smile, looking back over his CMO’s shoulder. Lil pulled out her phone and sat down, swiping through it.

“Lilly,” Ratchet said suddenly. 

She frowned up at him, miffed at the use of her real name. “Yeah?”

“There was something mildly troubling about the scan I took of you.” 

Optimus frowned concernedly, noticing the same expression on Lilly’s face. “What was it?”

“When you were having your… panic attack,” he said hesitantly, noticing her wince. “I noticed that your intake was being obstructed. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?”

Lil’s demeanor instantly changed from goofy and a little awkward to uncomfortable. “It’s nothing,” she said abruptly.

Ratchet raised an optic ridge. “It’s clearly something.” Her expression was still guarded. Ratchet sighed. “I will need to know any conditions my patients may have,” he added gently.

She crossed her arms, hunching her shoulders. Optimus narrowed his eyes. “Some humans experience something called gender dysphoria.” Ratchet glanced at Optimus knowingly. “They’re uncomfortable with one or more body parts that come with their biological sex.” She hesitated. “I wear a chest binder because I experience discomfort with my… female chest parts. The binder would be why I’m not breathing normally.” 

Ratchet looked at her with sympathy. “Cybertronians don’t have sexual organs like humans, we are all created non-gender conforming.” The techno organic peered up at him curiously. “We choose what we identify as, male, female, both or neither. You mentioned becoming full Cybertronian?” She nodded. “Well, you will be able to identify as whatever you want.”

“I identify as female, but just in name. Nothing… else,” she said firmly.

“That is what most femme identifying bots choose. To have what you described would require protoform modifications,” Optimus chimed in. Lil now had a contemplative expression on her face.

“Awesome,” she breathed.

“You are wearing binders safely, right?” Ratchet asked, information from the humans “World Wide Web” scrolling past his optics.

“Oh yeah, my doctor made sure I knew how and everything, don’t worry,” she reassured.

“I will have to request more from Agent Fowler,” Ratchet said distractedly.

Lilly waved her hands hurriedly. “No no, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that-”

Ratchet snorted. “Nonsense! It would be virtually no effort.”

“But-”

This time, it was Optimus who cut her off. “Back on Cybertron, ensuring a youngling was comfortable with their form was just as important as making sure they were getting adequate fuel.” She stared, slowly processing. “If you are going to be living and fighting alongside us, you will be no exception,” he finished, almost sternly.

Her eyes went slightly misty. “Well, thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate that,” she said gruffly. Optimus smiled. So she was the type that didn’t know how to deal with unexpected shows of simple kindness. Wiping her eyes, she quickly shifted the subject. “So how are Cybertronians created? Can you reproduce? I’ve heard of spark-merging creating sparklings, but I’m not entirely sure how it works.”

Ratchet was impressed. “There are two ways actually. A sparkling could be created by the Allspark, and it will then be assigned to anyone looking to start a family. You were correct about the other way though. Any two Cybertronians can merge their sparks, and the one with less dominant coding will carry the newspark.”

Lilly was fascinated. “So is there a way to spark-merge without creating a sparkling?” She asked.

“Indeed, all that is required is for both Cybertronians to turn their sparkling safety protocols on,” Optimus responded.

Surprised, Lilly asked, “That’s it? That’s all there is to it?” The two Autobots nodded. “Wow.”

“We _are_ a far more advanced race than humans,” Ratchet stated, not unkindly. Just as a fact.

“That much is clear,” Lilly said in awe. “So when a newspark is produced, how are they…” she struggled to find the right word. “Um…”

“Birthed?” Ratchet supplied. She nodded sheepishly. “They aren’t, not in the human concept. The newspark develops next to the creator’s spark for about one human year. It will then be extracted and transferred to a protoform, where it will settle for the next few hours. The sparkling takes its shape, and the process is finished” Ratchet had forgotten how nice it was to have a youngling so keen to learn. It reminded him of the days before the war. 

“That doesn’t sound like it occurs naturally,” she said, eyes focused.

“No, as our race evolved, the creation of sparklings through spark-merging was developed,” Optimus explained.

“That is so cool,” Lil murmured. A yawn escaped her mouth. And she covered it absently. Ratchet, the usually grumpy medic, softened at the sight of the eager but tired femmeling. 

“Would you like me to show you to your quarters?” Optimus suggested with a smile. Lil nodded, exhaustion written across her features.

“After the day I’ve had, that would be extremely welcome,” she said. “Thanks for the talk, Ratchet.”

“Go get some recharge,” he responded huffily, also unsure how to express himself.

She grinned. “No problem doc.” He sighed, but his optics were alight.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My thoughts whirled as I trudged down the corridor after Optimus. It was pretty kek that all Cybertronians were ace and born in a gender neutral environment. If only I was raised gender neutral, maybe I would feel more comfortable with myself. Speaking of which…

“Hey Optimus,” I spoke up, striding up beside him. He looked attentively down at me. “I just wanted to thank you again about.. That.”

His optics twinkled. “As Ratchet said before, It is nothing.” We turned a corner and arrived at a door far smaller than the ones to the bot’s quarters I had seen earlier with Miko. “If you need anything, it’s Bumblebee’s shift at the main terminal tonight. With that, he turned away and started walking back the way we came, heavy pedesteps echoing through the base.

“See you in the morning?” I called after him. He turned around with a gentle expression.

“Goodnight Lilly.” I smiled happily and opened the door to my new room. It wasn’t very big, but seeing as this was formerly military, it came as no surprise. The twin bed had a nightstand next to it with a lamp. On the far side of the room, there was a door, which I walked over to and opened. Inside was a sink, toilet and shower. On the side of the sink was some toiletries (including deodorant, which was much needed, seeing as I wouldn’t have new clothes for who knows how long. Blinking at Fowler’s unexpected kindness and thoughtfulness, I splashed some water on my face, too tired to do anything else.

I threw off my jacket and kicked off my boots, walking over to the bed. I reached under my shirt and unzipped my binder, but didn’t take it all the way off. Almost as soon as I collapsed on the bed, I was asleep, despite my spinning mind. The last thing I could remember before I succumbed to the inviting darkness was the feeling of safety.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that TFP was made a decade before among us was even a thing, and I don't care. "That's kinda sus, not gonna lie," is definitely something Miko would say-you all know it. 
> 
> Also, I just wanted to make it clear that Lil knows who all of the characters are and what things like a scraplet is, but she doesn't know the events or exactly what's going to happen next. I'm writing it this way, because most of the fics like this one that I've read have the main character always deciding whether or whether not to warn the other characters what's about to happen, and it makes the story kind of clumsy. In those fics, the main storyline remains pretty much unchanged, and it gets kind of repetitive. I'll try not to fall into that trap, but there may be a few boring chapters. I also changed her and Miko's age so they're a year older for plot purposes.
> 
> Don't worry, things will pick up speed in the next few chapters, I promise!


	5. You have been stopped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, Lil won't have to wait as long as she thought to get in the field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I'll get myself on a normal updating schedule. As I said last chapter, things will be picking up speed. Hope you like it:)
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I do own my oc though.

I am not a morning person in any way. I could’ve had the best night of sleep on record, and I would still be disoriented and groggy for an hour or two after waking up. The only time that I’m excited to wake up is when I have a big event planned-duh. 

This morning was no exception. I was still lying face down, the exact same position I had collapsed into last night. Groaning, I flipped on my back and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. For a few minutes, I just lay there, unwilling to get up, but unable to fall back asleep. Eventually, I propped myself up with my elbows and rolled off the bed, landing in a push-up position. I walked my arms back until I was standing (an exercise we would do in gym class) and plodded over to the bathroom. 

Stripping myself of clothes, I turned on the shower and hopped in. Inside, there was… My eyes widened in horror. “Dear god,” I whispered hoarsely. A Five in One bottle of shampoo sat on a small shelf. I shuddered. _It’s better than nothing_ , I told myself. _Besides, I don’t want to seem too needy._ Even if I would be committing a war crime every day. “At least I have deodorant.”

Once I was able to finish my morning routine without spontaneously combusting, I headed over to the command center. Everyone- minus Fowler- was already there. Miko, noticing me first, waved. I grinned and waved back. “Hey y’all, how ya doing?” 

Miko opened her mouth but was interrupted (bruh) by Jack. “Y’all?” He questioned skeptically.

I spread my hands and shrugged. “I was not only born and raised in the south, I lived on a farm! Luckily, I was probably the lowest on the redneck spectrum.” Raf laughed a little.

“ANYWAY, I was going to say that I was doing good,” Miko jutted in loudly. “Did you just wake up?”

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “Thirty-ish minutes ago. What time is it?”

“11:16,” Arcee spoke up from where she was leaning against the wall. 

I sighed in relief. “Phew. One time, I took what I thought was going to be a quick nap at like 4pm, and I woke up at 5. I went downstairs, and my mom told me I had slept twenty five hours.” We all laughed. “How does that even happen?”

**“The teenage sleep schedule is pretty weird, from what I’ve studied,”** Bumblebee piped up. 

Turning to Optimus, who had given me a small smile in greeting when I first walked in, I asked, “I know you said we should wait a couple of days, but could we start training today?” I looked pleadingly at him.

He contemplated for a moment. “Well… we wouldn’t start with too much, just a basic assessment of your abilities.” He hesitated. “I suppose-” 

“Bet.” I pumped my fist. “It’ll be a good distraction too,” I said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to disagree.

“You will be getting extensive training though,” Arcee said, reiterating her words from yesterday. “Don’t expect to be on the field for a while.”

I rolled my eyes. “I knooow, you can lay off now. So, are we gonna like, start now or later?” 

Before anyone could respond, there was a loud interruption from the monitor. “Prime? PRIME?!” Agent Fowler, trying to give me a hear-er, SPARK attack.

Optimus walked over. “Special Agent Fowler, to what do we owe-”

“What else? Cons,” He said angrily. “ I chased them off with some hard ordnance, but not before they blew me out of the sky.”

Miko snorted. “Again?” Noticing my confused glance, she elaborated. “When we first met, he got himself captured by the cons. He acted like he was high for a whole day.” I laughed.

Fowler glared at me through the screen. “They tried a smash-and-grab for the DNGS.”

“The what's-it?” Arcee asked skeptically. 

“Dynamic nuclear generation system, AKA, DNGS.” He pressed a button and the screen shifted to show a large cube strapped to the floor. “It's a prototype energy source I'm porting to the coast for testing.”

Ratchet made a pfft noise. “That's absurd. Why would Starscream bother with such primitive technology?”

The screen switched back to show Fowler's stern face. “I'm guessing to make a big fat primitive weapon of mass destruction. If this baby were to melt down, it would irradiate this state and the four next door.”

Raf gulped. “Uh, did agent Fowler say what state he was currently in?” 

“If he’s in the southeast, maybe we should blow the thing up-get rid of the sketchy parts of America.” I looked purposely at Miko. “Wanna come?”

She grinned. “Mass arson! Sounds fun.” Everyone else looked at us like we were insane (I didn’t blame them too much).

Fowler had decided he would pretend he didn’t hear us. “I'm a sitting duck here, Prime. I need you to spin up your bridge and send the DNGS to its destination before the 'cons come back for it.”

“I'm afraid that sending such a volatile device through a ground bridge is out of the question,” Optimus said gravely. “If there were to be an accident during its transmission, the radiation of which you speak could propagate through the ground bridge vortex and harm all 50 states-and beyond.” I shrugged. _Why stop at the sketchy parts of America, how about the sketchiest part of the world?_

Fowler looked stumped. “You got any better ideas?

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood on the catwalk next to the other three kids with a drooping posture. I knew that I wouldn’t be going on any missions anytime soon, but I was pumped for the start of my training today. Now the ‘bots were going on a ROAD TRIP that was going to last for hours! _Just my luck_ , I thought. I took off my jacket and threw it over one shoulder.

Four signatures beeped on the computer. “We are locked on to your coordinates, Optimus,” Ratchet said “Barring any complications, you should reach the dropoff point by sundown.” Miko yawned. I resisted melting into a puddle. She was just so cute! I frowned. How could one person alone have this effect on me?

“Hey Lilly?” Raf’s small voice popped up beside me as Miko and Jack leaned back on the railing. 

I looked down at him with as kind of an expression as I could make. “Yeah?” Most younger kids don’t like me. I would usually return the favor, but Raf was sweet.

“I like your armband.” I looked at the rainbow encircling my bicep, unaware that Miko’s head had snapped around to look at me. _Must’ve forgotten to take it off last night_.

“Thanks! My friend gave it to me,” I remembered wistfully. My helpful brain reminded me I would never see him again. I squeezed my eyes shut for a split second.

Me and Raf started comparing our school lives. “You’re literally a prodigy! Why would your parents keep telling you that you aren’t working hard enough?” 

He shrugged. “Probably because they want to make sure I get the chances they never did?” 

I sighed, shaking my head. “I hate when parents do that.” We talked for a few minutes before Fowler’s panicked voice rose audibly above our conversation.

“ _That's the one! The 'con who shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?_ ” 

“Come on Fowler, no self respecting being of any species would call themselves any of those,” I called.

_“Well how am I supposed to know?”_

“ _Feeling a little constricted without the use of my fists here, boss,”_ Bulkhead commed in.

_“Remain in vehicular mode unless absolutely necessary,”_ Optimus replied. The sound of screeching tires filled the base.

_“A whole team of 'cons!”_ Fowler exclaimed.

“What?” Ratchet said confusedly. “I'm not picking up anything. They must be utilizing a cloaking technology.”

Something was off. “This is kind of sus-where would the ‘cons get that kind of technology anyway? Sounds advanced.” A few moments of muffled shouting and skidding tires passed.

_“I think I just found the reason!”_ Fowler said in a surprised tone.

_“Our assailants are not Decepticons-they are human,”_ Optimus clarified.

“Human?!” Raf and Jack asked incredulously. My eyes widened. 

Miko scoffed, cocking her hip. “Oh, please. Taking on our bots? They're roadkill!” Her voice was full of her usual confidence.

“But if they’re American, they might have guns!” I said. “Lots of guns!” I added, noticing the blank stares. I shrugged. “The U.S. is a weird place, and I lived in a very scarily patriotic part.”

“That much is clear by now,” Ratchet muttered, optics focused on the screen. The passive aggressive battle continued, metal clanging against metal. Eventually, a new voice rang through the base.

_“I do hope you take better care of the DNGS than you do your captives.”_ It was male, and had an American accent.

“Told y’all!” I pumped my fist. Ratchet sighed.

_“Special agent William Fowler here. Identify yourself!”_ He said in a firm voice.

_“I am Silas. But of greater consequence to you, we are MECH. Fair warning-we will be helping ourselves to your device, even if it means inflicting casualties.”_

_Have fun dying lol_ , I thought. The Autobots kept driving until they passed the DNGS off to the military. A few seconds later, the monitor beeped. Six red energy signatures appeared-closing fast on the ‘bots. “Optimus, you have company,” Ratchet warned.

Some slightly distant sounds of transformation were heard. _“Agent Fowler, I'm afraid that if you and we are to survive, it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover,”_ Optimus said, transforming. _“Remain here.”_

“ _Will do,”_ he replied. Now, the sounds of real battle filled the comms. 

_“Prime! Silas got wise to phase 2!”_ Fowler said.

_“I understand,”_ Optimus replied. Before he could do anything though, there were several crashes. Optimus grunted in pain.

“Optimus!” I called worriedly. _No no no, please be okay, you’re my anchor of sanity right now..._

_“Prime, do you read me? Prime?!”_ Silence. 

“Optimus is down!” Miko exclaimed.

“And MECH’s gonna grab the DNGS!” Jack added worriedly. “We need to think of something, quick.”

“You mean like a phase 3?” Raf sounded panicked. I put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Well, in times like this, I find it helpful to not panic,” I said, on the edge of another panic attack. “Optimus will be fine, so we need to focus on the train or the chopper… Not much we can do about the chopper.”

“Okay,” Jack muttered to himself, turning away. “Come on, think. Alright, if mech wants the DNGS, they have to get on that train.”

Miko picked it up instantly. “What if we get on board first? You know, run some human-on-human interference?”

“I can definitely contribute in that area,” I grinned with an edge of wildness, brandishing my sword.

Ratchet had a different opinion. “Absolutely not!” He said, making a cutting motion with his hand. “And _you_ are untrained!” He fixed me with a glare. I cringed away.

“Yeah, maybe not the best idea,” Jack agreed.

I crossed my arms. “Well, I do have some experience,” I muttered.

“She does!” A stupid smile spread over my face with Miko’s support. “She showed me yesterday, she can handle herself. Besides, the United States of meltdown doesn’t have a great ring to it! Lives are at stake!” 

Ratchet’s opinion remained unchanged. “Yes-yours! You want me to not only bridge you into a confined space, but one traveling at 90 miles per hour? I can't even count the number of ways that can go wrong. Mass-displacement trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn!” We stared at him. “Well, maybe not the last one. Regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix ground-bridge coordinates on something moving at that speed.”

“If anything does go wrong, I have a lot of practice when it comes to breaking myself.” I offered.

Ratchet did not look reassured. If anything, it seemed he was now attempting to set me on fire with the sheer force of his optics. “Is that so?” 

“Would it help if we had access to the train's coordinates?” Raf asked, saving me an explanation. He pulled them up on his computer, obviously having done some hacker stuff.

Ratchet growled. “Another time!” He wagged a digit at me. I laughed nervously. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Me, Jack and Miko jumped through the bridge and immediately fell over. It was like trying to stand up on a school bus. I fell on top of Miko’s warm body. She rolled onto her back so our faces were only a few inches apart. I blushed, stuttering out an apology and quickly hopped to my feet, offering her a hand. She took it, smiling at me.

I threw the door open, used to dealing with heavy barn doors. We all looked out to see a helicopter rapidly getting closer. Blinking in the bright sunlight, I put my aviators on. “We're in,” Jack said into his phone.

_“I read you, Jack.”_ Raf’s voice was slightly distorted. _“The cellphone-comlink patch works.”_

The ‘copter moved closer until it was directly above us. “Raf, mech's landing on top of the train,” Jack said hurriedly.

_“In about 20 seconds, you're gonna come to a fork. Brace yourself.”_

We heard the helicopter land on the train, but it was thrown off when we swerved the other way. Our relief was short lived however. A few seconds later, we heard the helicopter land again. Sparks flew from the ceiling as MECH began to cut through the top of the train.

“So, what'd that buy us?” Jack said hopelessly.

Miko winced. “Raf is losing his touch.”

“Hey give him a break, these dudes clearly came prepared-far more than us for sure,” I scolded lightly, smiling a little so they knew I wasn’t mad. The three of us stared anxiously at the square that was rapidly taking shape. I unsheathed the blade strapped to my back. Miko grabbed the fire-safety axe and Jack took the fire extinguisher. 

There was an awkward moment where me and Miko tried to step in front of each other, so when the ceiling fell, the soldiers saw us with our legs tangled slightly. I managed to free myself and step in front of them fully.

“You want a slice of this? Well, do ya?!” Miko raised her axe threateningly. I just bared my teeth at them and growled lowly.

“What she said!” Jack said, holding up the fire extinguisher in an attempt to look dangerous.

The soldiers left, just like that. I squinted confusedly. “Maybe they could see that we’re elite members of Gen Z and they didn’t want to get fucked up,” I suggested.

Jack glared. “Language,” he muttered. Miko and I rolled our eyes. 

We peered outside of the train. The helicopter was speeding away, but before we could celebrate, a missile zoomed about a hundred yards ahead and blew up the tracks. “Whoa!” Jack exclaimed. I swore under my breath.

I heard a panicked conversation between the others, but it seemed time had slowed down for me. I turned around and walked calmly over to the hole in the ceiling. I narrowed my eyes, measuring the distance in my brain as well as the likelihood I would be able to keep my footing. Looking back at Miko and Jack, I grinned and gave a two fingered salute. They seemed to notice I was up to something for the first time.

“Lilly!” Miko yelled. It was too late to stop the likely stupid stunt I was about to pull off though. Channeling energy into my legs, I crouched and jumped higher than should be possible for a human. Luckily, I wasn’t.

Landing in a Spiderman-like position on top of the train, I instantly started sprinting towards the front. Without hesitation, I hooked my feet on the railing and swung so I was upside-down, facing the rails. Curling one leg around a pole for extra stability, I inspected the fast-moving wheels. Shrugging, I began slashing anything that looked important. The train stuttered and dropped a little, but it didn’t stop.

Snarling in frustration, I returned to my slashing with vigor. “C’mon, c’mon! Don’t be a screw-up for once!” It slowed a little, but not enough. The universe apparently didn’t want me dead yet though, as I saw a familiar red and blue semi-truck drive up on the other side of the train. He transformed, grabbed the front of it, dug his heels in and groaned as it slowly came to a halt. 

My hand loosened from its white-knucled grip it had on my sword. Now that we weren’t in the middle of a life or death situation, my adrenaline wore off and I was left shaking. Unhooking my legs, I fell onto the ground ungracefully, landing face first. I let out an ‘oof’ and rolled over onto my back. “Wow, I’m not dead!” I said a little deliriously. Turning my head, I saw Miko and Jack jumping out of the side of the train.

“Lilly, what were you thinking?!” Optimus thundered, kneeling in front of me.

“Don’t blame me! _Ratchet’s_ the one who let me come out here in the first place!” I protested. “Besides, I thought we were going to die!” I stood up. 

“Woah dude, are you okay? You like, jumped ten feet in the air!” Miko exclaimed, reaching us. 

“I’m fine,” I reassured. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t give you guys any warning, but I kinda just had a moment of clarity, y’know?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Jack said. Optimus gave me a final glare, before turning away to look at the helicopter that was hovering above us. It stayed there for a few seconds before flying ominously away.

“Ayo, not bad for a first mission!” Miko cheered, clapping me on the back. 

“You definitely did more than we could probably do,” said Jack, who smiled.

“Thanks guys! Hopefully the Hatchet won’t blow a gasket when we get back,” I said worriedly. 

Miko scoffed. “Meh, he’ll get over himself.” I raised an eyebrow.

“No he won’t,” Jack whispered helpfully behind me. I sighed.

“Great.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And if you EVER get back outside, you should consider yourself lucky.” Ratchet’s lecture was beginning to wind down. The kids and their bots had vanished, saying they needed to get home, but I knew they just didn’t want to stick around for my verbal beating. To make things worse, he and Optimus were ganging up on me.

“While your actions were impressive, especially considering the circumstances, I agree that you won’t be on active duty for a very long time,” he said sternly.

“Seriously! I don’t know why you guys are acting like it’s the end of the world,” I complained. “I thought we were going to die, and I reacted appropriately.”

“You didn’t even think about waiting for any other option!” Optimus sighed. “Just consider all of your options next time.” Ratchet looked like he wanted to say more, but he was silenced with a look from Optimus.

“You better get a headstart on training then,” Ratchet grumbled. “Around here, there’s no telling when the next crisis will pop up.” 

I pumped my fist victoriously. “Bet!” I grinned to myself and started walking to my room. 

“Where are you going?” Optimus asked? I turned around confusedly. “We can start now.”

Maybe the universe doesn’t hate me after all.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all know how if you ask someone to commit arson with you, you probably have a crush on them? Ya see what I did there in the beginning of the chapter? Heheh. 
> 
> Did anyone get my matrix reference? If so, kudos to you. You aren't an uncultured swine.
> 
> Also, if anyone uses five in one shampoo, it is indeed considered a war crime.


	6. I don't need no college degree to be a clothing hanger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Police: Excuse me sir, has there ever been a robbery at this establishment?  
> Security guard: Not that I know of  
> Lil, Miko, Raf, Jack, the Autobots and Decepticons: snEAK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! I think I'm getting better with consistent updates. Hope y'all like it:)

Two weeks of relentless training and trying not to embarrass myself in front of Miko had passed since our encounter with MECH. I’m pretty sure that everyone EXCEPT Miko knew I had a crush on her by now. Even Raf! He’s twelve! I suppose I wasn’t exactly being subtle, always tripping over myself to help and impress her. I pretty much did every single thing she asked, from video games to sword fighting. 

Miko used a metal pipe about the length and weight of my sword to mimic my movements and spar with me. She was pretty good, but it didn’t quite seem like it was her style. On the other hand, we both enjoyed our lessons very much-we always ended up in a laughing mess after a particularly stupid move I would pull, which was exactly why I pulled them. I loved her laugh, it was uproarious and infectious, and her wide smile made _me_ smile. She didn’t quite throw her head back like I did, but she always matched my volume.

Optimus may seem like a gentle leader, but his training program was anything but. In addition to the vehicon simulations I was tested with (the blasts stung if they hit you, but not for very long), I started an extensive workout plan. I ran dozens of laps around the training room and did a bunch of exercises on my own time as well. I was a pretty athletic person in my other universe, but now I was stepping it up to a whole new level.

Arcee helped out the most with my training. Being the smallest and fastest, it was the easiest for her to effectively train me. So far, my fighting style was flighty-using my opponent’s strength against them, moving so quickly they could rarely get a hit in and hitting the vulnerable spots. Luckily, when they did get a hit in I was always able to block. _Thank you super strength._

I’m sure that if I did get shot, I would be fine. I had shown myself to practically be indestructible. Nobody wanted to test that theory though. I wonder why? The bots also used their holoforms to spar with me. I found Bumblebee (his holoform was in his early twenties and wore yellow and black) the most fun, because his fighting style was similar to kickboxing, which I had practiced plenty of.

After Ratchet pointed out that I had a spark, and therefore would need energon to fuel it, I started taking injections of energon every week. Not a lot, but I would start needing more as time went on. I still ate food and drank water (courtesy of Agent Fowler) though. Optimus had also contacted Fowler at some point, because one day after training, I came into my room to find a few sets of clothes (I had picked them out) and a stack of binders. It made me happy beyond words.

I missed my old life greatly, despite my awesome new one. Every day before I fell asleep I would think of my family and let out a few silent tears. The pain in my spark was ever present, despite my attempts at distracting myself and my humor that I hid behind. I know that keeping emotions bottled up is bad for your psyche, but I had already had a panic attack in front of them. They didn’t need to see me have a mental breakdown as well.

At the moment, I was sitting in my room sketching the blue ridge mountains. I was never particularly great at drawing, but I wanted to preserve the view in my mind for as long as I could. As the outline of Pisgah Tower took shape, my earpiece Optimus had given me a few days prior crackled to life. _“Lil, report to the command center immediately,”_ Optimus’ voice said. 

I popped up off of the bed, finger to my ear. “What for? Did the ‘cons finally rear their head?”

“ _I will explain the situation when you get here_.” The comm shut off. I shrugged. Sprinting down the hall, I reached the command center in a matter of seconds.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” I launched myself up the stairs three at a time. 

“We found an energon harvester in a museum,” Ratchet explained. “Do you know what that is?” 

“Even if I didn’t, the name is pretty self explanatory.” I snickered as he made an exasperated sound.

“And us four are going in to get it!” Miko added, gesturing to herself, me, Raf and Jack. “Before the ‘cons can.”

Optimus nodded in affirmation. “We will bridge you directly into the museum, you will get the harvester we’ll bridge you out.”

One thing was off. “What about Fowler?” I asked.

“He’s apparently on vacation,” Bulkhead grumbled. 

“Ooh, so we’re breaking the law! Cool! You know, my friends and I had a saying for that; be gay and do crime-” I cut myself off abrubtly as I realized I had just accidentally outed myself in front of everyone. Miko stared at me with an upward tilt to her lips. Why was it so hot in here all of a sudden? “Uh, we should get going?” 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We waited in front of the groundbridge as the ‘bots secured the perimeter. _“Autobots, confirm position.”_

**_“East side check!”_ **

_“Westward Ho.”_

_“South side covered.”_

“ _Maintain your guard,”_ Optimus intoned. _“Lil, Jack, Miko, Rafael, I will have a clear view of you. Once you secure the harvester, I will contact Ratchet to bridge you back to base.”_

Ratchet activated the groundbridge and turned to us. “Now, since you'll bypass all points of normal entry, you won't need to worry about setting off the alarm. But take care to avoid any security guards.” I flashed him a thumbs-up, and Jack drove through the swirling portal. 

We rolled down a sophisticated looking hallway into an exhibit. There was a T-rex skeleton, a large sculpture of a face (kinda looked like that one in the Night of Museum) and a tall Greek statue holding-

“Opa,” Miko whispered victoriously. Optimus flashed his headlights from the window, giving us the all clear. Jack held down a button and the scissor lift rose up to the harvester’s height. I bumped my head on the camera. I rubbed the now tender spot. Jack and Raf looked at me sympathetically while Miko took a picture of the statue and harvester and placed it over the camera. I stooped awkwardly to avoid hitting the ceiling. I hummed the Pink Panther theme.

I turned around so my back was to Optimus as we maneuvered carefully over to the large golden orb. Raf climbed on top of the statue’s hand. Bracing himself against the stone sleeve, he shoved his small body against the harvester. There wasn’t too much force in it, but with me pulling from my side, it was enough to dislodge the sphere. Miko and Jack helped me catch it. 

“Okay, let it go on one-” Before I could finish my hushed countdown, the glass cracked behind me and we startled, our grips on the harvester loosening. Recovering quickly, I attempted to bear the weight on my own, but it fell nonetheless-right onto my left foot. There was an audible crunch as a sharp pang rattled through it. I hissed, my eyes watering slightly. “Motherfucker!” I whispered harshly under my breath. Jack and Miko looked at me concernedly.

Waving them off, I spun around to see Optimus holding a missile. My eyes widened. “Guys, the ‘cons are here! We need to move quickly,” I said tightly, attempting to ignore the pain in my foot. Helping Raf down, I saw Optimus on the ground being electrocuted by a shiny red bot. I growled, but there was nothing I could do. 

“They got Optimus!” Jack exclaimed worriedly. The scissor-lift lowered.

“He can take care of himself, right now we need to book!” Miko said unexpectedly and firmly. 

I nodded. “Once we get the harvester back to base, the cons’ll leave as well.” The sounds of clashing metals followed us down the corridor. As I picked up my left foot gingerly off the ground, Miko ran around a corner to open a door. When we turned the corner as well, Miko was being dragged into a room by a security guard. She didn’t look afraid, just sheepish.

“Shoot,” I grumbled, lowering myself down. Just one bad thing after another. Logically, I knew Miko would be fine (just in a really awkward position) and that the security guard was just doing his job, but I barely quelled the urge to kick down the door and punch that dude in the face.

“Not good,” Jack muttered, peering around the corner. The three of us shared a look, unsure of what to do next until a pair of vaguely familiar pedes walked up to the door. “Arcee!” I warily backed up. Arcee’s armor wasn’t that dark... 

Spindly digits reached under the door and lifted it giving us a full view of their owner. Raf gulped. “It's Soundwave,” He said hoarsely. _The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn’t it?_ Gritting my teeth, I unsheathed my sword and stood in front of the harvester threateningly. I understood the consequences if the Decepticons got a hold of it, and I would try my hardest to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Unfortunately, two weeks of training wasn’t much compared to several millennia. One of Soundwave’s cables shot out and slammed me into a wall. I grunted with the impact. I recovered and leaped at his shoulder, even though the pain in my foot was dizzying. I scored a long slash down his side, severing multiple wires and leaving them sparking. Soundwave merely slammed me into the wall again. This time, my vision went black for a few seconds. 

When I came to, Jack and Raf were shaking my shoulders. Behind them, Soundwave had a picture of me on his visor. He transformed and flew away. I groaned in defeat. “”Fatality,” I mumbled. 

“C’mon, we need to go before Miko isn’t the only one about to be arrested,” Jack said warningly. I nodded grudgingly. Jack held out a hand. I took it and he managed to pull me up, despite my greater height. 

“Can you walk?” Raf asked worriedly.

I took a step forward. The pain was bearable. “Sure can,” I responded. “Let’s make like a plant and get out of here.” Jack and Raf ran ahead with me limping more slowly behind them. 

“The 'cons have the harvester!” Jack called after the ‘bots who were in mid pursuit of the retreating ‘cons.

“And security has Miko!” Raf added.

“She’s going to go to juvy and it’s my fault!” I said regretfully. “Somehow.” 

“What?” Bulkhead exclaimed. “I'm going in after her.”

Optimus put a cautioning hand on his shoulder. “Bulkhead, Miko may be detained, but she is safe from harm.” He eyed (or opticed I guess) me limping towards the group. “You engaged Soundwave on your own?” He did not sound happy.

I winced. “It wasn’t much of “engaging” so much as it was repeatedly getting slammed against the wall. I did attempt to stop him from taking the harvester,” I started talking more quickly when Optimus narrowed his optics. “But it was because I knew what would happen if they got it.” He shook his head in disbelief, putting a digit to the finials on the side of his helm.

“Ratchet, we need a bridge.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This time, it was NOT my fault,” I argued. Ratchet’s holoform, who was bandaging my bootless foot (it had turned out to be fractured), sighed. The others, including Bulkhead, had already departed on their search for possible places Starscream would pop up. 

“While I agree that this,” he gestured to my foot. “Wasn’t your fault, attacking Soundwave was unnecessary.”

I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Is it really that hard to accept the fact that I didn’t want the Decepticons to get the device that could mean the end of the war?! C’mon! Besides, I just have some bruised ribs, and they don’t ache as much anymore.” He just shook his head. Why do older people always do that?

“Well, you’re intact and online, that’s what matters,” He said grudgingly. “You should get some recharge. You are already healing at a rate far quicker than any human’s, so you should be fine when you wake up.”

Ratchet’s holoform blinked out of existence. Transforming from his alt-mode, he lifted me onto the platform. I layed back on the couch. “Wake me up if something happens,” I demanded, my eyelids already drooping. “It would be pretty sucky if ‘SCREAMER was the one to finish us off.”

He snorted. “I will make sure to keep you posted.” It might’ve just been my sleep-deprived brain, but did I hear a hint of fondness in his tone? I rolled over so I was lying face down in a starfish position. 

“Ensure you do,” I mumbled, right before my mind was swallowed by a comforting darkness.

  
  



	7. Authors note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I dun fricked up

Guys I may or may not have gotten myself grounded from all of my personal devices (for a month) so I probably won't be updating until December. Sorry! I will attempt to post more sooner than that but it's unlikely.


	8. Yo, you wanna see some real speed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is really unlucky- first Knockout and then Airachnid? Somebody give this kid a break. Also, angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took me a month longer than I had planned to update, but I am here now! I kind of had a small identity crisis if that means anything. If you don't kill me, I'll try to be a better person and update more frequently (if I don't, assume I'm having and identity crisis).

“Hey I just had an idea,” Miko announced from where she was lying on her stomach with her legs crossed on my bed. My foot was completely back to normal, just as Ratchet had promised.

I was sitting upside down in an armchair at the end of my bed. “Yeah?”

“Y’know how people in movies and stuff always have names for their weapons?” I nodded. “We should come up with a name for your sword.”

I blinked. “That’s not a bad idea,” I said hesitantly. “But I’m not great at coming up with names.”

“How hard can it be?” Without waiting for a response she jumped right into it. “Okay… it has those leaves on it-” 

“Ivy,” I clarified.

“Right, and it’s super strong and sharp... it’s really balanced...” I listened with slight bewilderment. How would that narrow it down? “Hmmm… how about Foeslayer?”

I grinned. “I like the sound of that. Got anything else?” We spent the next fifteen or so minutes discussing names. I mainly gazed at her golden-brown, almond shaped eyes, contributing little to the conversation. Miko was able to carry it just fine on her own though.

One of the few words I knew in Japanese was _sakura_ , or cherry blossom. I’d always loved the word. It just rolled off the tongue in such a beautiful way. Somehow, it reminded me of Miko. She was about the farthest from a delicate flower as you could get, but something about the word seemed similar to her. I tucked the word away in my mind for later.

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you that Jack has a crush.” Miko grinned mischievously. Oh. That’s what it was. Her _smile_. Her soft pink lips... 

I shook my head to clear it. “Is that so?”

“Yep! He even raced a bully with Arcee as a show of loooove,” she sang. 

I laughed. “They won right?” 

She scoffed. “Of course! But he still needs to work on his talking skills.” 

I pushed myself off of the chair and landed ungracefully on my back. I coughed and let out an _oof_. “Don’t we all.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After relocating to mission control, Miko and I started playing video games with Raf. Well, Miko and Raf played video games, I attempted to walk on top of the railing. Carefully putting one foot in front of another, I spread my arms in a wobbly T pose. Probably not the safest way to improve my concentration (or smartest, I am _not_ known for my legendary common sense), but hey, it’s the funnest. Bulkhead had a mildly worried expression on his face.

I was on my twentieth lap or so when Jack walked up and out of nowhere, said, “Raf? Is there any way I could borrow Bumblebee for an hour?” 

“Huh?” I faltered, stepping into thin air (luckily it was on the platform side) and subsequently falling onto my face. I groaned. I could practically hear everyone wincing. _Why is it_ always _the face?_ “I’m fine!” My yell was muffled by the metal floor.

**“I knew that was going to happen** ,” Bumblebee muttered. 

I ignored him, sitting up. “Jack, you aren’t going racing again, are you?” He smiled sheepishly. I sighed. 

“Jack, you know that’s against the rules!” Raf worried. “What if Optimus finds out?” 

“But Raf, he has to get the girl!” Miko exclaimed. He stared blankly. “And beat the bully?”

“Sorry Miko, but I’m going to have to disagree on that one,” I apologized. She looked surprised, but not upset. Internally, I sighed with relief. "It would cost more than it's worth." Turning to Jack, I asked, “Where are you going again?”

He shrugged. “Some place called the Circuit. I think it’s some sort of underground racing club.”

I hesitated. “Jack, that doesn’t sound like the type of people you should be hanging out with.” He crossed his arms. “They probably do drugs,” I added. “And they’re likely not safe for somebody like you to be hanging out with.”

Well THAT was the wrong thing to say. Jack narrowed his eyes. “Somebody like me? First off, I’m older than you-” Because one year makes a HUGE difference. “-and I can handle myself. Besides, it’s just this once.” 

I raised my hands placatingly. “That’s all well and good, but didn’t you say ‘just this once” last time? There are better ways to get girls to like you, trust me.”

“I need to do this.” He said determinedly. I could see that he was set on it. 

I sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I vaulted over the railing and landed in a crouch, my knees absorbing the impact. “See you guys later.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bounced lightly on the balls of my feet from side to side, punching the air in controlled motions. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in the training room, attempting to release my anger and stress through practicing forms and doing aggressive push-ups. Probably a while. 

I sighed in frustration, quickening my strikes. _Why-_ jab _\- don’t-_ jab _\- people-_ crosspunch- _ever_ \- elbow _\- listen-_ knee- _to-_ front kick- _me?_ I punched the wall. It dented from the force of it. Breathing heavily, I admitted to myself that I wasn't just upset with Jack. 

I made my way to the back stairs, clenching and unclenching my fists. After climbing them, I opened the small hatch at the top and walked over to the edge of the cliff. I lay back and put my hands behind my head, gazing up at the stars. 

Images from my past flicked through my mind. My dad, helping me with math homework. My sister laughing at She-Ra and the Princess of Power with me. My mom, helping me haul hay bales to the shed. My friends, comforting me when I came out to them with tears in my eyes.

I missed them all so much. At least I’d had the chance to experience that life though. If I had been born on Cybertron like I was supposed to, I would have been scarred by the downfall of my planet. 

I tried forcing my eyes to dry, but they refused. Squeezing them shut, I turned on my side and curled into a fetal position. My efforts in holding back my tears were futile though, and eventually I fell asleep.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Optimus let a servo fall down his face as he walked down the hallway. After Jack’s failed attempt at street racing due to Knockout's intervention, he was ready for recharge. Hopefully, his Autobots and the children had learned their lesson today. 

_Where was Lil the whole time?_ He wondered, frowning. Reaching the training room, he peered inside. No socially awkward techno-organics anywhere. Activating his holoform, he strode over to her room and knocked lightly on the door. When there was no response, he quietly opened it. Lil wasn’t in here either.

“Hmm,” He murmured. She and Miko often disappeared to the top of the base for long periods of time. Maybe she would be there. His holoform climbed up the backstairs to see an open hatch. A few yards away was the young to-be Prime curled on her side, back facing Optimus. He smiled to himself.

“Lil,” He whispered. She didn’t move. He moved so he was facing her. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were wet. Gently wiping them off, he picked her up and carried her back down the stairs and to her room then placed her on the narrow on the narrow berth. Optimus pulled the blankets over Lil and walked to the door. Giving her a final worried look, he shut it gently. He deactivated his holoform and entered his quarters in his root mode, making a mental note to talk with Lil in the morning.

Frowning, he recalled her tear-streaked face. She had clearly been keeping things from them, even though he had said that she could talk to any of them- in fact he encouraged it. When she wasn’t hiding behind dark humor (too dark for his liking at least) or jokes at her own expense, she was training or giving longing looks to their resident rule-breaker. She seemed fine but Optimus knew better. He had discussed this with his CMO, and Ratchet agreed. Keeping grief bottled up was extremely unhealthy for someone who had experienced what Lil had. 

Optimus sat down on his berth and sighed. The war had been going on for millions of years and he was more than ready for this unending cycle of hatred and injustice to end. He remembered the determined look on Lil’s face as she stubbornly insisted that she would fight to end the war with the rest of them even if she wouldn’t get a normal human childhood. He had never seen such spark before. _Maybe it will end soon._

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up the next morning feeling oddly refreshed and tired at the same time. My mind was in the state as last night which reminded me… how did I get back to my room? I did fall asleep topside, right? “Hmm,” I murmured, rubbing my eyes. My phone read 12:35, which was not great. I try to be at least a little more punctual than that. I trudged over to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. After putting on my American Idiot sweatshirt (You know, with the bleeding heart grenade? I know, I’m such a rebel) and basketball shorts over my sweatpants, I exited the room.

When I reached the control room, Optimus was waiting expectantly. There were no other bots or humans present except for Ratchet. Ratchet turned to face me when I entered, crossing his arms with an unreadable expression on his faceplates. I stopped warily. “I promise that it was Miko that graffitied ‘NERF OR NOTHING’ in Ratchet’s habsuite- I had no part in it!” I had, in fact, suggested it to her in an offhand comment, but I didn’t actually participate in the act itself.

Ratchet narrowed his optics suspiciously, but he let Optimus respond. “We are not mad at you for anything Lil,” he said reassuringly.

“Speak for yourself,” Ratchet snorted. Optimus gave him a warning glance. 

“We were just wondering if anything was wrong. You’ve been acting fine recently, but something does not seem entirely that way.” He looked at me questioningly. I tensed almost imperceptibly.

“Yes of course, curled up in a ball, having cried herself to sleep is exactly what I would define as ‘fine,’” Ratchet huffed sarcastically. Optimus sighed. 

My brain took a moment to catch up as I prepared myself for the inevitable conversation about _feelings_. “Oh,” I said dumbly. “You found me up there and took me down?” 

Ratchet shook his helm. “Optimus did, and he told me because he was concerned that you’ve been keeping things from us- as he should. Lil, he already told you that you can talk to him or me- in fact, you _need_ to. You’ll be no good to anyone with mental issues, right?” He attempted a joking tone, but he only unveiled the worry that was hidden beneath the frustration. 

Optimus nodded. “I agree with Ratchet. _Talk_ to us.” Looks like my mental preparations were in vain. I could see where this was gonna go.

Knowing they would see past further attempts at humor, I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down, eyes firmly fixed to my feet. I was silent for a moment. “Everyone here is great, you guys do more for me than I ever could've asked for. But,” I hesitated, clearing my throat. “Y’know. I just. Uh. I miss ‘em. My family that is. And all of my friends,” I finished gruffly, turning away to wipe a stray drop of water that fell out of my eye. Huh. How did that get there? _Lil you idiot you just had a mental breakdown you don’t need another one in less than twenty four hours-_

A second passed as I tried and failed to keep my composure. A hand appeared on my shoulder. When I looked up to see who it was attached to, I found Optimus’ holoform. He was looking at me with a soft expression, and with that, the few threads that were holding me together snapped. My shoulders slumped and I closed my eyes as more tears escaped. I leaned forward slightly as I was enclosed by his arms, surprisingly warm considering that they were a hardlight projection. I made little _hic_ noises as my shoulders began shaking.

“It might not be okay for a while. I will not lie to you. However, we are both here for you-” Optimus paused as a second pair of arms hugged me from behind. 

“-and we will keep being here, even if you get sick of our faceplates. Don’t you think you can get rid of either of us,” Ratchet comforted teasingly. 

I sniffled. “I don’t think I can get sick of either of you guys. Y’all are pretty damn cool- no, let me rephrase that. Pretty _fucking awesome_.”

“Language,” Optimus muttered halfheartedly, but I could see the corners of his holoform’s mouth twitch.

We stayed like that for a while, me wrapped in their arms as I finally let out the emotions I’d kept bottled up for weeks. It felt safe, warm. I wasn’t so bold to call it home just yet, but… I didn’t feel alone anymore.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After I got it back together, feeling better than I had since I had arrived in this dimension, me and Optimus retreated to the couch while Ratchet went back to work at the main terminal. Optimus’ arm was around my shoulders as I leaned into him, unwilling to give up contact (When he let go, I wouldn’t be so keen to show my vulnerable side again). I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift. My mind, usually anxious and sending random jolts of adrenaline through my veins, was peaceful for once. _If only I could deal with my feelings for Miko so easily._ Which reminded me…

“Hey, where’s Miko and everyone else?” I asked. “It’s not a school day.” 

“Raf is helping Miko with homework at Raf’s house with Bumblebee, Bulkhead is on curbside duty and Jack and Arcee are on a scouting mission in Oregon,” Optimus answered. 

“Arcee and Jack should have commed in by now,” Ratchet muttered worriedly. “Her scouting missions usually don’t take this long.”

As if by divine intervention, the main commlink buzzed. _“Ratchet, requesting groundbridge,”_ Arcee’s familiar voice was patched through. I shifted awkwardly away from Optimus, trying to convey my best _‘it’s nothing personal’_ look at him. He seemed to understand, smiling reassuringly at me before his holoform disappeared. Ratchet typed away at the terminal for a few seconds before queuing up the groundbridge. Two little zaps at the end of said ‘bridge marked the entrance of Jack and Arcee.

“How did it go?” Ratchet asked. 

Jack and Arcee exchanged a look. “Let’s just say it was a little crazy,” Jack said uncertainly. From the look in Arcee’s optics, it was more than a little crazy.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of the hits guys! I also really appreciate it when you comment, it gives me more motivation to write. Feedback is always welcome.


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